Shrinking Recap: Trauma-Induced Avoidance

The longer Shrinking goes on, the less it feels like the story of just one man’s grief. This is becoming a proper ensemble comedy about a trio of therapists and their friends and family, all of whom have their own private dreams and fears.

“Woof” features the least Jimmy yet, and it’s a nice change of pace to see him as part of the ensemble without dominating the story. In the first few episodes, it might’ve felt strange for a Brian subplot to be almost entirely Jimmy-free, but the two only exchange a few lines in this episode. Most of this story belongs to Brian alone — and when he needs someone to listen, Gaby becomes his go-to, not Jimmy.

Brian has been trapped in a cycle of announcing that he’s going to propose to his boyfriend Charlie, only to chicken out. It’s gotten to the point that he’s on a first-name basis with Keith from the jewelry store, and he still can’t muster up the courage to buy a ring. Where does his reticence stem from? It’s not that Brian is unsure about his feelings, as it turns out; it’s a classic case of trauma-induced avoidance, as Gaby puts it. When he lets himself open up to her, he admits that he avoids taking risks so that he doesn’t get hurt. His fear of rejection can be traced back to his religious, conservative parents, who never came around after he came out to them.

It’s a bit of a cliché, especially with how quickly and articulately he diagnoses himself, but it works for the story. And it ties into the episode’s larger theme of fear and avoidance. Take Grace, whom Jimmy finally forces to stop ignoring him. She lied to Jimmy about going back to her husband because of the terrible ultimatum he gave her: threatening to stop being her therapist if she didn’t leave him. But while that’s an unusual circumstance, Grace’s fear and embarrassment come from a familiar place. Nobody likes admitting when they go back to an ex they know is bad for them, and sometimes therapists like Jimmy can unwittingly become people their patients are desperate to impress.

But two other main characters are slowly learning to face their fears: Paul and Sean. Paul is still hiding his Parkinson’s from his daughter Meg, and to make things worse, he doesn’t even have his closest work friend Jimmy to chat with about it. Jimmy makes one attempt to get through to him, suggesting they “move forward,” but Paul only responds with a loud buzzer noise. It’d be one thing if he took professional action, reporting Jimmy or getting his license revoked. But just refusing to listen to him and turning to Gaby for conversational “sloppy seconds”? As Alice says, he’s a “stubborn asshole,” and that applies to both his relationship with Jimmy and his reluctance to be honest with his daughter.

Who knew that all Paul really needed was to connect with a patient going through his own issues with avoidance? Sean has been on a downslide, and he inches closer to rock bottom in this episode. He takes a chance on his dad, who keeps hitting him up to hang out even though he won’t allow him to live with the family. But even though Tim’s gesture in presenting Sean’s framed medals is well-intentioned, it also shows how little he actually understands his son. Every time he calls Sean a hero, he’s pushing him away, not letting him back in.

With the recent discovery of Alice’s crush on Sean, Jimmy can’t help but watch the two of them closely. The episode does feint in the direction of romance, with Alice complimenting his license photo and then skipping school to listen to him vent. She tells him that she knows who he is, even if nobody else does. But where the episode pivots is much more interesting. Sean spontaneously climbing a water tower isn’t a fun, quirky date moment. It’s cause for serious concern.

I like that the episode mostly skips past Jimmy’s anger after finding out about Alice ditching; a quick reminder from Alice that just a month ago she was “cleaning his cocaine off a picture of Meemaw” pretty much ends that scolding before it even began. Again, the episode keeps the focus on Sean’s actual mental health. Alice is worried about him, and now so is Jimmy.

Enter Paul, who saves the day just by inviting himself over for a beer and opening up about his own fear of telling Meg about his Parkinson’s. He wants to maintain the image in her head of a strong, independent father, not a “sad old man who needs to be taken care of.” That honesty leads Sean to vocalize what he started to say with Alice: Everyone thinks he was a hero, but he did terrible things, including kicking in doors, pointing guns at kids, and hurting people. It hurts too much to face that side of himself head-on, and yet it follows him wherever he goes.

The exchange leads Paul to call Meg at the end of the episode, presumably to finally tell her the truth. Paul may enjoy slighting Jimmy by successfully counseling Sean on Jimmy’s own turf, but it’s a step forward that he’s willing to embrace the weirdness of it all, having a beer with a colleague and his patient in the colleague’s pool house. He even points out Jimmy’s utility as a therapist, hopefully bringing Sean and Jimmy back together for an improved professional relationship. (Whether Jimmy actually deserves to be vouched for as a therapist is another question.)

It feels right that Paul, Sean, and Brian are the perspectives that we get the most of this week, with recent episodes heavy on Liz and the Laird family. Just like Ted Lasso resisted ever becoming The Jason Sudeikis Show, Shrinking is becoming more than just The Jason Segel Show. It’s a good sign for the show’s longevity and the quality of the second half of this solid first season.

Progress Notes

• “Sean, you should stay mad at your dad for as long as you can.” “Really?” “No.” “Don’t do that. It’s annoying.”

• The fake name Jimmy uses to ambush Grace is “Kevin Lactaid.”

• Nice to briefly see Keith Powell, who played James “Toofer” Spurlock on 30 Rock, as one of Gaby’s patients.

• Harrison Ford saying “air fryers.”

• “That hat is ridiculous.” “Now you’re just lying to hurt me.”